Law & Paneir

Ten years ago, al-Qa`ida utilized four U.S. commercial airliners to destroy the World Trade Center’s towers, damage the Pentagon, and kill close to 3,000 people. This attack spurred the United States to convert its counterterrorism efforts into a sustained war on terrorism, resulting in the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, the capture or killing of hundreds of al-Qa`ida members, and the eventual death of al-Qa`ida chief Usama bin Ladin. There has been extensive reflection in recent months regarding the implications of Bin Ladin’s death and the Arab Spring to al-Qa`ida and its affiliated groups. Two critical issues, however, have been partially sidelined as a result. How has the terrorist threat to commercial aviation evolved since the events of 9/11? How have actions by the U.S. and other governments worked to mitigate this threat? This article offers a thorough review of recent aviation-related terrorist plots, subsequent mitigation strategies, and current terror...

Protecting charities from terrorist abuse is a critical component of the global fight against terrorism. Charities provide essential services, comfort, and hope to those in need around the world. Unfortunately, terrorists have exploited the charitable sector to raise and move funds, provide logistical support, encourage terrorist recruitment, or otherwise support terrorist organizations and operations. This abuse threatens to undermine donor confidence and jeopardizes the integrity of the charitable sector, whose services are indispensable to the world community. Treasury’s Office of Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime has developed this Web site to provide information and resources for all stakeholders in four strategic areas:  i) private sector outreach; ii) coordinated oversight; iii) targeted investigations; and iv) international engagement.  Treasury hopes this information will be useful for federal, state, local, and private actors in combating terror...

What is Hawala? The word “hawala” comes originally from the Arabic language and means transfer or remittance. Hawala provides a fast and cost-effective method for worldwide remittance of money or value, particularly for persons who may be outside the reach of the traditional financial sector. In some nations hawala is illegal, in others the activity is considered a part of the “gray” economy. It is therefore difficult to accurately measure the total volume of financial activity associated with the system, however, it is estimated that the figures are in the tens of billions of dollars, at a minimum. Officials in Pakistan, for example, estimate that more than $7 billion flow into the nation through hawala channels each year. Other Alternative Remittance or Informal Value Transfer Systems include “hundi,” “fei ch ‘ien,” “chit system,” “poey kuan” and the black market peso exchange. The very features which make hawala attractive to legitimate customers (mainly expatriates...

After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the United States Department of the Treasury initiated the Terrorist Finance Tracking Program (TFTP) to identify, track, and pursue terrorists – such as Al-Qaida – and their networks. The U.S. Treasury Department is uniquely positioned to track terrorist money flows and assist in broader U.S. Government efforts to uncover terrorist cells and map terrorist networks here at home and around the world. These U.S. Treasury Department efforts have not only disrupted terrorist networks, they have saved lives. Since the start of the program, the TFTP has provided thousands of valuable leads to U.S. Government agencies and other governments that have aided in the prevention or investigation of many of the most visible and violent terrorist attacks and attempted attacks of the past decade. As part of its vital national security mission, the U.S. Treasury Department issues subpoenas to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financia...